Friday, December 29, 1995

Either way you pay

Constant self discipline is not easy. It is the price you pay for achievement. You basically have two choices in your life. You can chose the “easy” life, a life free from effort and self discipline, or you can chose to pay the price for success.

At any given moment, the “easy” life of leisure and fun is the most effortless choice. The rewards are immediate. It is easier to spend the day at the lake than to spend the day working. It is easier to sit in front of the TV than it is to read a book or write a business plan.

In the long run, however, the easy life leads to mediocrity. If you don’t do much, nothing much gets done. Your life gets nowhere.

A life of effort and self discipline is more difficult on a daily basis. You have to get out of bed early every morning. You sometimes have to do things that are unpleasant. It isn’t always fun. But you end up accomplishing something. You make something of your life. All those days spent working and disciplining yourself will eventually pay off.

Jim Rohn talks about the pain of discipline versus the pain of regret. Either way, he says, you pay the price. You can choose to pay the price of discipline now, today, and every day. Or you can chose to pay later with the price of regret. He points out that the price of self-discipline is pennies and the price of regret is a fortune.

Think of that. Just imagine how you would feel, knowing you could have had success, accomplishment, and wealth, but didn’t do it because you chose the easy life. Just imagine the depth of pain you would feel when you realize it’s too late, that you no longer have the energy or the opportunity to make something of yourself. Wouldn’t you rather pay the small price of self-discipline now, and look back at a life of accomplishment?

As Jim Rohn says, you can choose to go to the beach today, or you can work today, and tomorrow, and the next day, and eventually own the beach.

— Ralph Marston

The power of consistent effort One step at a time next

Copyright ©1995 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All Rights Reserved. The Daily Motivator is provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Other than personal sharing, please do not re-distribute without permission.